Escaping the Cage
by thefriendlyguy63
Summary: What would happen if Lucifer, Michael and Adam found a way out of the Cage? Well, you're about to find out. Set during season 6, when Sam gets his soul back. (Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural, or any of the characters.)
1. Introduction

"Hehehe." Lucifer giggled for the hundredth time as he prodded and poked at the soul of his true vessel. After that irritating seraph Castiel had grabbed Sam and took him back to Earth (likely back to his interfering brother), life in the Cage had gotten ever so tedious. He'd lost his playmate, and Michael was no fun. Adam – Lucifer didn't even know where the kid came from – remained in the corner, his knees pulled up to his chest with his head in his hands. Michael simply sat with his arms folded, staring disapprovingly at his younger sibling's antics.

Just when Michael was about to snap, a blinding white light pierced the darkest segment of Hell. Lucifer and Michael both looked up simultaneously; Michael gazed in shock at this dramatic turn of events, whereas Lucifer was somewhat more casual, glaring irritably at the plot twist due to being torn away from the amusement of torturing an already ruined soul.

Eventually, the all-encompassing light receded to reveal Death, the sassiest and most awesome of the four horsemen standing nonchalantly before them, staring at the two angels as if they were his children that had been caught stealing from the cookie jar. Lucifer raised his eyebrows while Michael stared open-mouthed in a mixture of surprise, awe and confusion. A faint scream from Adam could be detected in the background as he wondered what the hell was going on.

"Oh, don't mind me." Death spoke insouciantly, strolling over to the horribly mutilated soul of Sam Winchester. Michael was still gazing, almost romantically, at the horseman, utterly speechless. As an action of reflex, Lucifer wrapped his arms around the soul and continued to glare at Death, knowing that if he allowed him to take it, he would be entirely bored for the rest of eternity. That was, if he didn't find a way to escape…

"Honestly," Death sighed, flicking Lucifer's ear and placing Sam's soul in his black leather bag with the omnipresent look of discontentment in his knowledgeable eyes. "When will you ever stop behaving like an infant, you incompetent fool? You must know by now that you are absolutely powerless in here, particularly in my presence. You wouldn't stand a chance against me."

"Wait! Where are you going?" Michael finally rebooted and decided to question the horseman's actions, which proved to be a mistake.

"I am going to treat that as a rhetorical question in the process of ignoring your tremendous stupidity." Death turned away from the angels with his leather bag tucked under one arm and re-opened the door of the Cage with the other. Adam began to hyperventilate in the corner, yet Michael and Lucifer elected to ignore him. As the horseman exited probably the least pleasant place in existence, subconsciously dusting off his suit as he departed, the two archangels turned to stare at each other, as if questioning the recent events and checking if the other had witnessed the same, so as to make sure they were not, in fact, going insane.

After a few seconds, the inhabitants of the Cage had still not heard the slam of the door, so it became evident that either Death was still walking slowly through, or that the door had been left open by accident (or on purpose – it could be another trick: goodness knows they'd come across enough of those already), but surely not? Lucifer and Michael gradually turned their heads to the exit and discovered that, sure enough, the door remained wide open. A moment of hesitation lapsed before the angels darted towards the door at the exact same time, smothered in their new found freedom. Lucifer reached the exit first, naturally being one step ahead of his big brother, but Michael wasn't too far behind. Adam's hands were still covering his face as he recovered from the ultimate shock and confusion as to what his life even was, so he didn't immediately notice the open door or lack of annoying archangels. When he did, his hands slowly slid away from his face, gawking at potential liberty, yet expecting some kind of an evil trick as part of the new torture he would undoubtedly be facing from Lucifer, since Sam's soul had been kidnapped. But it was worth a try, at least.

* * *

A young child was in the middle of a game of 'tag' with his friends at an indoor children's play area. It was his birthday party, so he was naturally ecstatic and hyper from all the sugar consumption that is always present at parties, but what he saw next was not a sugar-induced hallucination.

As the child dashed around the corner, in the opposite direction of the person he saw get 'tagged', the strangest sight beheld him: a suited man strolled ominously towards the colourful ball pit, armed with a leather bag and purpose. As the man entered the ball pit, stooping under the ridiculously low arch (it was designed for children, after all), he stared with a complete poker face at the boy, who had stopped in his tracks and was staring back at the man in childish puzzlement. Then, the suited man descended into the ball pit, maintaining his straight face as he disappeared.

The boy looked at the spot where the man had been standing just moments ago, yet there was no trace of him left. Considering it an adventure, the child dived straight into the ball pit, throwing the coloured balls out of his way as he searched for where the man had gone, but there was nothing there.

Confused, the boy stood still as he contemplated his situation. He started to get slightly angry, feeling bitter at the injustice of the fact that a grown man could go on an adventure, yet not him. Just before he started a temper tantrum, the suited man appeared again, this time ascending from the ball pit with the exact same facial expression and leather bag, but this time a faint glow could be seen from inside the bag. The boy gazed up at him, not knowing what to say, but the man ignored him and strode out of the ball pit and out of the play area.

Just when the boy thought his birthday couldn't get any stranger, another man rose from the ball pit, not in a suit this time, but a green shirt surrounded by another green shirt of a different shade and blue jeans. The child was startled to discover red sores covering the man's face and hands, as if his body was deteriorating, which made him significantly more wary, with a hint of fear.

The man's intense aura filled the vicinity as his gaze swept the surroundings until it fell upon the boy, who looked especially small next to his overpowering presence.

"You, boy." He addressed the child, pointing a damaged hand at the small surprised human. "Will you be my vessel?" The child continued to stare uncomprehendingly at the man, not understanding his weird words.

"Hmmm… Let me phrase it differently. Would you like some chocolate?" This alternate choice of words had an immediate effect on the boy; his eyes lit up and the corners of his mouth turned up in glee.

"Say 'yes, please.'"

"Yes, please!" A powerful light erupted from the man along with an extremely high-pitched noise and took over the small child. It was obvious the boy was no longer in control over his body, that he contained an entirely different personality and purpose in his life. Realising the other archangel would be after him in limited time, he dragged the uninhabited body of his previous vessel into another section of the play area, concealing it under beanbags and toys, much to the horror of other young children watching.

With only seconds to spare, Lucifer, in his new form, had left the building before the next man rose from the ball pit. A couple of young girls noticed him and stood there giggling instead of wondering how he got there. This angel was attractive, after all. He looked around him, much like the man before him, and picked up a coloured ball.

"What's this?" he asked quietly, before half-heartedly discarding the object over his shoulder. Behind him, Adam had just reached the exit in the ball pit, but the ball hit him right on the head, knocking him back into the Cage as he shouted in frustration and desperation.

Wasting little time, Michael stormed out of the ball pit, yelling after his younger brother.

"Lucifer? LUCIFEEEEEEERRRRRRR!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, charging through groups of kids, not hesitating to shove them out of the way if they blocked his path. As the oldest archangel also exited the indoor play area, Adam climbed to the top again, panting heavily, but by this time, a gaggle of children had gathered in the ball pit and were pouncing on top of him, demanding piggy-backs as he moaned in defeat, too weak to even fend them off.

They had all done it. They had all escaped the Cage.


	2. Michael

The first thing that crossed Michael's mind, above any other, was that he needed to stop Lucifer. It had been drilled into him from the moment he cast his younger brother out of Heaven, and now was no different. He knew that complete anarchy, destruction and genocide were the main priorities of the rebellious archangel, and he also knew that he would go to any measures in order to ensure that happened. Sure, Lucifer was difficult to obstruct, however Michael knew him better than anyone, and besides, he had been stopped before. There was no reason why he couldn't do it again.

The next thing that Michael decided was to go after his brother immediately. If he was quick enough, he may be able to subdue Lucifer before he caused too much damage. On the other hand, since he was fresh from the Cage after been trapped for a hundred or so years already, the younger archangel was bound to have plenty of pent-up rage, making him significantly more dangerous. Plus, Michael's own powers would be a little rusty, making him a weaker opponent. There was also the task of creating a devious plan to trap Lucifer back in the Cage (or Heaven's prisons – it depended on which was easier to get to when he did catch him), which would prove more difficult the second time round, as the Devil would be wiser to tricks – or would he? Michael supposed it was worth a try, that was if he could come up with a good enough plan. But no, Michael required the help of his other brothers to formulate such a trick, and would definitely need back-up when confronting Lucifer. There was only one thing for it. Michael had to return to Heaven and speak to his fellow angels. Flapping his wings forcefully, the oldest archangel hastily flew up to his home.

When Michael arrived in Heaven, none of the angels really noticed him straight away; it soon became obvious some kind of two-sided war was going on. So nothing had changed there, then. The celestial creatures were in the middle of what Michael assumed was an on-going commotion: most angels were dashing about, looking rather fearful and generally stressed out, whereas some were quite relaxed (_That must be the winning side_, Michael thought to himself), though not many. The rest must have been on Earth. One angel, Virgil the weapons keeper, glanced briefly over Michael, then did a double take when he realised who it was.

"Michael. Is it really you?" The observant angel looked confused, yet seemed to believe the presence of the impossible archangel in front of him.

"Yes. I know you will have questions, however I need to speak with all of the angels in close proximity immediately, most of all Raphael. He is still alive, isn't he?" Michael was itching to prepare a plan of action as soon as he could, yet it was evident he couldn't avoid a meeting first.

"Yes, yes of course, things have been… difficult lately, to say the least, but I shall inform Raphael of your presence at once." Virgil scurried towards Raphael's office, returning almost instantaneously with Michael's only remaining archangelic brother (aside from Lucifer, of course), who brought with him an aura of intimidation, as if he should be feared greatly.

"Greetings, brother." Raphael remarked, conveying slight uncertainty, trust and acceptance in those two words. "I assume you require the attention of the angels?"

"If it's not too much trouble." Michael agreed. Raphael clapped his hands, silencing all angels in the vicinity right away. When they all laid they eyes upon Michael, a few gasps sounded from various spots in the crowd, while most of the others stood open-mouthed, eyes full of awe and disbelief.

"Some of you, well, most of you will be surprised at my unexpected arrival, since the last time I was seen was when I fell into the Cage with my brother in order to stop him. I can't go into much detail about how I escaped, as there are more pressing matters at hand. I know you are all preoccupied with whatever events you have been busy with in my absence, yet I am sure you will understand that I am desperate when I ask for your help. Lucifer is free once again, and I need you to support me in ensuring his return to the Cage, once and for all. As fellow angels, brothers and sisters, I ask you all to stand together in my aid and cause. After all, some petty feud is a trivial matter in the long run, and what truly matters is our mission: to support one another as a family and protect humanity from desolation and despair. Now, first things first, we need a plan-"

"A plan? Oh Mikey, you were always so organised. It's weird. Inhuman!" A familiar cheeky voice came from behind the group, and Michael quickly whirled around to see the youngest of the archangels leaning casually against a wall, holding an orange lollipop, his look complete with raised eyebrows and his infamous 'I-know-what's-going-on-and-why-and-you-don't-so-you-look-so-confused-it's-hilarious' grin plastered across his face.

"G-Gabriel?! You're-"

"Alive, yes I know. Can we skip the whole 'OMG what are you doing here how are you alive?' thing please? It was amusing at first, but we don't want to shock your little fan club into mortality, now do we?" Gabriel swaggered over to his big brother, looking him up and down and making barely audible determining noises, as if deciding whether Michael was worth helping.

"Yeah, you might wanna drop the 'just-got-out-of-bed' look, it doesn't suit you. And did it ever hurt a man to pick up a hairbrush?!" The trickster grabbed a few strands of his brother's hair, lifting them up before dropping them and spinning around dramatically.

"Aaaaaaanyhow. Luci's out the Cage again, huh? Gosh, he may be Satan, but you gotta admit he is one tenacious S.O.B!" When Gabe noticed the puzzled and slightly judgemental glances from pretty much all of the angels, he realised he should probably contribute his ideas to the task in hand.

"Gabriel, we need your help. It will be the element of surprise having three archangels on our side, and we could outwit Lucifer without delay." Michael finally addressed his little brother seriously, then turned to Raphael.

"Raphael. Will you be joining us? We could really use your extra archangelic powers." Michael attempted to persuade their brother to continue his help.

"I would, Michael, however I have far too much on my plate at the moment, plus I am sure my powers would be redundant if there are already two powerful archangels against Lucifer. Nonetheless, know that I shall always be on your side, brother, and to look out for you. I trust you with this task, and have absolutely no doubt that you shall be victorious." With those final words, Raphael teleported back to his office with Virgil, and the remaining angels returned to their busy lives.

"Well, looks like it's just you and me, buddy. But no fear, the trickster is here! And boy, do I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I've been waiting for this moment ever since good ol' Luci fake-killed me." Gabe announced as the oldest and youngest archangels devised the master plan against the Devil.


	3. Lucifer

Lucifer strode purposefully down the deserted road. He was now a few blocks away from the indoor play area and from any detectable signs of civilization; due to his inhabitation of a small child as a vessel, he had had many concerned parents approaching him, asking him if he was with any adults, some even thinking he had escaped from the play area in an act of childish rebellion. The archangel had initially dealt with such people by fending off their interfering inquiries, however when they wouldn't leave him alone he got irritated, so either smote them, or (if he was feeling nice) simply threw them across the street telekinetically.

Knowing he had to hurry, despite the advantage of time he had on his older brother, Lucifer contemplated what his next move would be. He could, of course, start his destruction of the Earth tout suite, as he loved nothing better than complete and utter chaos – the longing for such sin had been in his nature ever since his expulsion from Heaven, as a vengeance of sorts. Although he did regret not trying harder to persuade Michael to join him all those millennia ago, the love for his angelic siblings still ran deep and true. Causing them harm was the last thing the Devil desired, but what other choice did they give him?

Anyway, Lucifer realised he shouldn't begin the pandemonium just yet; wiping out an excessive amount of humans (however much he despised them) would attract the currently unwanted attention of angels, demons, and maybe even some humans. Well, hunters, anyhow. Meddlesome creatures. He assumed that Michael had gone to Raphael and his angels for back-up, or at least for help. Although Michael didn't think it, Lucifer knew him extremely well indeed, to the point where he was nearly always one step ahead of him.

After dismissing the idea of his vicious rampage, the archangel finally decided upon returning to Hell. Not the Cage, the rest of Hell, where he was free to roam and resume reign over his people. He needed to witness the state of his kingdom first, before he could make any rash actions. The demons he had created were generally loyal to him (for example, Meg), however there were certain ones who betrayed and therefore detested him, and in his second extended absence, he knew confusion and uncertainty would be the new rulers of the underworld. Times like that caused demons to be easily lead. It was a terribly… _human_ trait of theirs.

Refusing to waste any more precious time, Lucifer spread his wings and teleported to Hell.

The archangel appeared in an arbitrary corridor of Hell, not directly in the middle of the bustle that was always present in the busiest hours of the day, but close enough to hear the desperate screams of souls being tortured brutally. After a few strange looks from various passing demons, Lucifer realised he was still in the form of a little boy, so naturally would look entirely out of place. Nonetheless, the Devil had to get on with his plan to check up on the existing situation. He could take it from there and go wherever he desired with his renewed liberty.

"What's wrong with your meat suit? Encounter a malfunction while possessing them?" A foolish demon tittered idiotically as he noticed Lucifer stood there, staring dumbfounded at the stupidity of the despicable creature. Did he realise who he was speaking to? Clearly not, but he would pay for it either way.

Slamming the demon against the wall with telekinesis, Lucifer stared intensely at him, his eyes sending out the darkest and most fearful threats with a simple glare. Meanwhile, the demon's breath erupted in erratic bursts, conveying immense terror and fear for the immediate future.

"What did you just say to me?" Despite having limited time before Michael found him, Lucifer couldn't let this slide. If there was one thing he detested more than demons, it was being disrespected by them.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" The archangel interrupted the fool, realising the unimportance of one twisted soul and also lack of time.

"Never mind. Now, tell me: who's running things down here?"

"Wow, someone's been away a while – it's common knowledge. Whoa, whoa, hold up, I'll tell you!" The demon panicked, holding up his hands in surrender as Lucifer tightened his grip due to the lack of information being presented to him. "Crowley, you know, ex-King of the Crossroads, is the new boss now. His office is just down the corridor and around the corner, your first left." Following one last glare, Lucifer dropped the creature onto the floor as the fool barely regained his composure.

The small archangel paced as fast as he could with his tiny legs (he made a mental note never to use a child as a vessel again) in the direction that the demon had guided him, and when he reached the royal-looking mahogany door, he flung it open dramatically, in the hope that this 'new boss' was home. Turns out he was.

The self-appointed King of Hell glanced up reluctantly from a tedious stack of paperwork at the child stood in the doorway, looking rather silly.

"Who let a baby in my office? This isn't bloody day-care." Crowley casually remarked, peering beyond the door to see who had let the kid in. No-one had.

"I am not a child. I am Lucifer." Lucifer stated as convincingly as possible, which didn't really work since he still had the voice of a child. That other demon had only listened to him because he was forced to – physically trapped and mentally too scared to refuse.

At those words, Crowley couldn't help but smile.

"You, the Devil? Are you having a laugh?" The King of Hell wasn't sure if this was some kind of a joke or a genuinely delusional demon that for some reason had possessed a small child.

"I am not kidding. And I shouldn't have to prove it to scum like you." The heavy door slammed shut and the temperature dropped a few degrees as Lucifer spread his pure white wings that filled up the entire room with their mass and undeniable beauty. In that moment, Crowley knew the creature who appeared as a young, immature boy was, in fact, the second greatest archangel. The Devil folded back his wings slowly and deliberately before continuing.

"So, let me get this straight. First, you betray me to the Winchesters by providing them with the Colt in a failed attempt to dispose of me, and help them find Death to put me back in the Cage. Then, when I am in the Cage, you steal my crown. Things aren't looking too good for you from where I'm standing." Lucifer stated as he strolled ominously around the office, keeping his eyes fixed on the King of Hell at all times.

"Ah, about that…" The archangel watched as Crowley fidgeted awkwardly under his gaze, wracking his brains for some kind of excuse, and coming up with nothing. He was going to explain why he feared for his life, just like all the other demons, due to Lucifer's hatred of the creatures, but decided not to push it. Instead, he changed tactics. "Perhaps we could negotiate something, you and I. We both want the title of the King of Hell – you've just returned from your extended vacation in the Cage, I'm reluctant to abdicate. I'm sure we could arrange a coalition of sorts…" Crowley trailed off at the look of utter disgust in Lucifer's eyes.

"Not likely, demon." The angel practically spat out the word, as if it was poison to him. He advanced rapidly towards the King of Hell, an archangel blade slipping slowly out of his sleeve. Crowley's eyes widened in fear as he tried to dissuade Lucifer from killing him.

"Wait a second, we can figure this out. Hang on, HANG ON!" Lucifer raised the blade high and grabbed the front of Crowley's suit, ready to plunge the holy metal into the repulsive creature's chest when a number of screams rang out from just outside. And they weren't generic human soul torturing screams. They were the screams of demons as they witnessed the arrival of Michael. Lucifer hesitated and the demon held his breath as the oldest archangel approached.

"Damn it." Crowley dropped to the floor as the Devil teleported away, presumably to Earth to avoid the wrath of his big brother. The King of Hell barely had time to dust off his suit when Michael entered the room with a significantly less dramatic door-opening than Lucifer.

"Where did Lucifer go?" The archangel asked urgently, looming over the dishevelled demon.

"Flew away. Too slow to catch your own brother, are we?" Crowley taunted as Michael teleported away, in too much of a rush to reply to his pointless remarks. Sorting out his appearance, the King of Hell poured himself a glass of whiskey in order to relax after the unexpected turn of events.

"Angels." He said to himself. "Honestly."


	4. Back in the Cage Again

Yet again, Lucifer found himself on the run from his big brother Michael. After fleeing from Hell, he returned to Earth, near to the indoor play area since it was a reasonably good place to start from; Michael wouldn't expect him to go back to where he just left, and he could work out the best place from there and possibly return if he got lost. The archangel couldn't stay in Hell, as Michael would find him eventually, and Heaven wasn't an option. No, this was the Devil's best chance.

Although Lucifer preferred to work independently (he'd had to learn that after being kicked out of Heaven), he reluctantly admitted to himself that he required the assistance of demons to cover his tracks. If he summoned a few and informed them of his situation, they would be bound to help, as he would simply kill them if they disobeyed him. Lucifer was sure there were still many loyalists remaining, and Crowley would have neither the time nor the nerve to inform all of the creatures of Lucifer's arrival, let alone poison their gullible minds against him.

The archangel, despite being out of practice, still had the mojo to conjure up the correct ingredients for a demon summoning ritual. The only thing left he needed was a location where he wouldn't be noticed or deemed conspicuous. As Lucifer wound his way through the streets, searching for a suitable abode, a seemingly abandoned warehouse came into view, looming over any object, living or inanimate, in the vicinity. Shadows haunted the dusty windows and crept into cracks in the rotting wooden planks that smothered the exterior. A shimmer of slimy mould also coated the wood, absorbing what little light was left of the day. It was perfect.

Lucifer approached his newly discovered destination with a slight hint of caution mixed with suspicion; was it too good to be true? So what if it was – he could easily overpower any forces sent to capture or kill him. _Bring it on,_ he thought as he stepped confidently through the creaking door. But no angels swamped him or hunters stabbed him with any angel blades (or rather archangel, but Lucifer sincerely doubted a human would be able to get their hands on one of those). It was genuinely just an abandoned warehouse.

The Devil's empty footsteps echoed coldly against the smooth stone floor as he paced towards the back of the room, preparing for the ritual. Just as he was mid-way through assembling the components, Lucifer hesitated. He sensed something wasn't quite right about the whole setting, as if it was a figment of sorts. That was when it clicked.

"Gabriel… I have to admit, you had me fooled for a second there." A purple shimmer appeared in one corner of the 'warehouse', rapidly transforming into the youngest archangel, who remained insouciant yet this time lollipopless.

"You're getting slow in your old age, Luci." Gabriel mocked playfully as he moved across the room, his cheeky grin ever present. "And I was warned you'd look a little different, but boy I was not expecting this!"

"It's good to see you again, brother." Lucifer spoke earnestly, ignoring the provocation concerning his childish meat suit. He gazed at his little brother with almost a hint of pride in his eyes. "I'm not too surprised that you managed to elude me before, you're getting rather good at your hoodoo tricks."

"You'd better believe it, bro. I had a lot of practice, being in witness protection and all, before you and your damn parties dragged me back in the game. Believe me, I know parties. And they are not being… not-stabbed with an archangel blade. Now you've had your fun, and I know it sucks when it's over, but the Cage is the perfect holiday home for you." The trickster made no attempt to conceal his distaste for his brother's constant escape and murder endeavours as he continued to casually pace up and down the room.

"Gabriel, I… I never wanted us to fight. I still don't. I know how much you despised the fighting and arguing in Heaven – it's why you left, after all. We don't have to be on opposite sides here, if you could just join me-" Lucifer knew his bid to convert, no; convert was the wrong word… win over the archangel was pretty much pointless from the off, however no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop wishing he could sympathise with him. Or empathise, even. That's what family is for, right?

"Join you? Ohoho, you are one selfish S.O.B. This has all been about you, hasn't it? Your stupid little plan to get people on your side,_ use_ them to destroy humanity, just to turn on them and stab them in the back – you've not changed one bit! And you know what? You never will. You'll always be the jealous toddler who kicked his toys out of the pram and went on one big childish tantrum just because his daddy didn't love him. I love you, Luci, I do. But it's impossible to work with you the way you are, and things are never gonna change. The only way to make things even slightly right is to ground you like an unruly teenager, because when it comes down to it, you're nothing more than that." Throughout this speech, Gabriel had gotten angrier and angrier, opposed to his usual carefree attitude, but venting his frustration had helped a lot, so he calmed down fairly quickly.

Before Lucifer could reply, a flapping of wings could be heard as Michael landed outside, and then strolled into the warehouse, a concerned look upon his face. A brief glance at Gabe told him all he needed to know; that his failed efforts to talk persuasively to the Devil had only succeeded in maddening him, and further ruining their brotherly relationship.

"Lucifer." Michael greeted the archangel, staring anxiously at him.

"Michael." Lucifer retorted in a sarcastic voice.

"Hey, Mikey! Glad you're here, you've been missing all the fun." Gabriel soon regained his usual witty self, clapping his hands together to lighten the mood a little.

"I told you not to call me that." Michael frowned at his little brother, before turning back to Lucifer. He gave him an odd look due to his bizarre choice of vessel, however didn't comment on it. "We have you cornered now, there's angel proofing so you can't teleport away or summon anything to you. You may as well talk."

"Talk? What is there to talk about? You want me dead, or at least back in the Cage, even though I haven't technically done anything wrong-"

"You've done everything wrong! Betrayed your family, murdered and twisted so many innocent souls. You deserve everything you get." Michael was up in his brother's personal space now, grabbing a handful of fabric at the front of his shirt and glaring furiously down at the angel inhabiting the boy. Lucifer changed tactics by challenging his brother.

"Even if you were to trick me back into the Cage, I already know this is an illusion, so how exactly do you propose to trap me in?" A flash of hope glinted in the archangel's eyes as he pointed out the fatal flaw in their little scheme.

"Like this." The two oldest archangels turned their heads towards Gabriel, Michael's hands still locked onto the front of Lucifer's shirt in a threatening fashion, both brothers with an identical questioning look on their faces. That was the last he saw of the disputing duo as he clicked his fingers. The illusion of the warehouse shattered instantly, revealing them to be back in the ball pit, Michael and Lucifer hovering directly above the entrance and exit to the Cage. After a moment of complete motionlessness, the brothers fell straight into their personal prison, where they would likely be spending the rest of eternity, hopefully without interruption this time. The hole into which they plunged closed up after a second, yet again swallowing up the two archangels.

A child who had (unbeknownst to Gabriel) witnessed the whole incident stood beside the trickster and stared at the ball pit for a second, before turning to gaze silently up at him, as if expecting an explanation.

"What?" Gabriel asked, looking down at the child innocently. "They were both pretty annoying anyway."


	5. Did You Forget?

Completely oblivious as to what just happened with Michael and Lucifer, Adam Milligan wandered about aimlessly, pondering what to do with his life. He had managed to get rid of the children at the play area eventually; they had dragged him into endless games of 'tag' and 'hide and seek', the latter of which enabled him to escape their irritating clutches. Now, he ambled down the street, and the realisation that he was finally in control of his life hit him like a smack in the face.

Adam could, of course, simply try to live a normal life – avoid ghouls and angels and whatever other supernatural creatures there are. But he wasn't too sure where to start with that, especially since he had no money or a backstory that wouldn't make him sound insane. It would probably have been best to track down and seek aid from some fairly distant relative, but Adam was still pretty ticked off with his half-brothers, and the more he thought about it, the more vengeance appealed to him. He wanted to make them suffer as much as he had. The thing was, he had no idea how to go about it.

The boy continued on his way with his head down and contemplated his plan, but the idea was rapidly dissipating as he realised there genuinely was no way to seek revenge on the Winchesters; they would kick his butt in no time, plus he had no clue where they lived, nor an idea what to do if he even got there. Then, out of nowhere, Adam happened to stumble upon a brightly painted joke shop, and the perfect plan began to formulate in his mind as he noticed a certain costume in the window…

* * *

Sam Winchester was lying on his back in his bed, staring up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. The younger Winchester always found it difficult to get to sleep, and when he eventually did drift off, he was a light sleeper, unlike his brother. He could sleep through the Apocalypse, that one. Well, he didn't, but you get the picture.

Sammy was particularly concerned about the whole soul incident; he hadn't even wanted it back in the first place, and now he could turn into a gibbering wreak any minute. It was like having a time bomb in his brain – it was inevitable that it would go off, just a matter of when. Sometimes he wished Dean didn't care about him as much as he did. It only got them both into trouble.

A shrill ring from downstairs interrupted Sam's deep thoughts, causing him to sit bolt upright. He hesitated for a second, debating whether or not to investigate the visitor. Just as he was about to leave it, the doorbell rang again. Sam slowly but surely got off the bed and crept down the hallway and stairs. He hastily grabbed a shotgun from the kitchen worktop for protection, knowing it would be loaded; his many years being a hunter did come in handy with 'stranger danger'.

Once he reached the door, Sammy cautiously slid back the various locks and turned the handle, making sure to leave on the chain in case it was someone unwanted or someone who he was wary of, for example, Crowley. He also kept his shotgun close to him, the nuzzle aimed through the crack in the door, but so subtle that it could only be perceived under close observation.

"Hello?" The younger Winchester asked tentatively, peering through the gap. No answer. That was when Sam noticed the clown. It was so dark he hadn't been able to see it at first, but the overly vibrant colours made it impossible for him to not notice it.

The clown simply stood there, completely silent. The eerily painted mouth smiled disturbingly at Sam as he started to panic, his eyes wide with fear and his breathing fast-paced and jagged. As an action of reflex, the hunter undid the safety catch on his shotgun and pulled the trigger. Not once, not twice, but several times, just to make sure. The clown (if that's what it was) flew backwards, a sharp gasp bursting from its mouth as it crumpled to the ground. A pool of sticky red oozed out from under the colourful yet terrifying figure as it exhaled its last breath. Sammy stood, shaking like a leaf after his mortifying ordeal – he had just had his worst fear appear on his doorstep and shot it dead in less than sixty seconds.

The sound of footsteps clambering noisily down the stairs approached Sam, and it wasn't long before they were revealed to belong to Dean Winchester, who had an equally shocked expression on his face, making him appear rather comical since he was still in his underpants.

"Sammy? Sam, are you OK? I heard a shot and came as fast as I could…" He stared at his brother, looking extremely worried for his welfare.

"Yeah, I'm… fine." Sam replied, releasing the chain on the door as he stared at the corpse of a clown on his doorstep.

"What the hell happened?" Dean joined his brother in staring confusedly outside, glancing from the dead body to the smoking shotgun in his brother's hand, then completing the cycle by gazing into Sam's fearful eyes. The two brothers remained this way for a short while, then Dean stepped forward to examine the body.

"I-I don't know, Dean. The doorbell was ringing so I went to see and they were stood there so I just… It all happened so fast, I don't even know." Sam tried desperately to explain, but he knew any way he worded it would make him sound bad, so in the end he just gave up.

"Hang on a minute…" Dean frowned at the dead clown, crouching down and inspecting its face closely. "Come here a sec, Sam."

"Are you kidding me?" The younger brother glared in disbelief at Dean, wondering why he would even consider asking him to walk any closer to a clown he had shot just a minute ago. Honestly, did he think he was an idiot?

"No, I'm not going to… Just c'mere a sec, okay?" The older Winchester didn't appear to be about to play a cruel prank on his baby brother, so Sam stepped outside and knelt next to him gingerly.

"Isn't this-" Sam was cut short as the brothers turned to each other with identical bewildered expressions on their faces. They both yelled the name of the 'clown' simultaneously.

"ADAAAAAAAAAAAM!"


End file.
